Chapter 361: Shaoyin Causes Trouble

Shaoyin and his younger brothers were already crouching in wait outside the fence; these large wooden posts could restrict horses that could not jump very high, but they could not restrict them, as they were capable of climbing trees. However, they could not rush in just yet, because the horses had not been released; it would be a wasted effort to enter now. Furthermore, without the herd to provide cover, their figures would be too conspicuous and could be spotted at a glance.

As for his younger brothers, the youngest was eight years old, and the others were only two or three years younger than him. Only one brother was born of the same mother; the others were all born to his father's concubines.

However, Xiong was uneducated, and his wife was also uneducated. Except for Shaoyin, whose name was helped chosen by Baifeng, the others were all named by Xiong himself: Erhu, Sanhu, and Sihu, respectively. Every time, he would only tell Baifeng after he had already named them. Naturally, Baifeng found it awkward to go and change them; after all, they were Xiong's sons, and besides, in this era, these names were not bad at all.

On the early autumn grassland, there was not much dew. Only after the herdsmen had carefully counted the number of horses did they cautiously open the gates of the Horse Pen. When they first arrived, the horses were tied to fixed positions on the trough beams, but once they were released for a while, it would be impossible to tie them up again.

As soon as the gates were opened, the impatient herd rushed out in a swarm. Once they reached the open ground, they began to let loose, galloping wildly. The herdsmen were all thinking about how wonderful it would be if these horses were obedient enough to let them ride them while running.

One of the main reasons they were willing to herd them was for the foals. This herd had produced over thirty foals this year, but they were not yet weaned. Although they could eat Grass, they were only willing to take the risk and release the horses out of consideration for the future of the foals.

For their own safety, the herdsmen rode oxen; this way, the horses would not dare to charge at them recklessly. Although the oxen did not run fast, they were very obedient to them.

They had also trained herding dogs. These dogs could judge in which direction to drive the livestock based on their Whistle. The most useful application was when herding sheep; sheep had no brains, were disobedient, and loved to run around, but their temperament was relatively docile, so they could drive the flock through the dogs.

In fact, no matter how many generations they had been domesticated, wolves and dogs were actually the same species; there was no reproductive isolation between them. If they were to release these dogs back into Nature, it would only take one generation for them to immediately turn back into wolves.

And for herbivores facing wolves, fear was carved into their genes. When faced with being driven, they were very obedient and would not attack the herding dogs.

After the herd was released, they scattered and ran wildly, paying no attention to any formation. They would only gather again once they had exhausted their energy and it was time to eat Grass.

Shaoyin and his group saw the horses galloping toward their direction and could not hide their excitement. After exchanging a look with his younger brothers, he took the lead in climbing the wooden posts. The younger brothers followed suit, climbing the adjacent posts and jumping into the Pasture.

Even though they were only separated by a wooden fence, they felt that the outside was what imprisoned them, and jumping inside was, on the contrary, freedom. The horses were the opposite; they knew of the existence of this wooden fence, and to them, the outside of the fence was freedom.

Two black horses ran toward them. As they were about to collide, the horses stopped first, began to paw the ground, and snorted. They were evaluating the threat level of these human cubs; at this moment, they were still full of wariness toward humans.

But what did the children know? They were completely unaware that this was the prelude to the horses' defense and imminent attack. They were even so happy that they shouted loudly because they saw the horses at such close range.

The herdsman in the distance heard the children's sharp cheers and frowned, feeling that something bad might happen. He drove his ox along a bit and looked toward the source of the sound, only to see that several children had broken into the fence and, as luck would have it, were facing two horses.

The herdsman thought to himself that it was bad and that something was about to happen, so he hurriedly shouted to signal his companions while releasing the herding dogs, preparing to go to the rescue.

He slapped the ox's rump hard, and the ox finally began to run sluggishly. He held the reins to guide the direction, his heart filled with anxiety.

Seeing the two horses standing still, Shaoyin thought they were afraid of them. He even reached out his hand and made a "tsk-tsk-tsk" sound at the horses, saying, "Good horses, come over and let me pet you, don't be afraid."

His younger brothers just watched their older brother's actions quietly, very expectant. However, the horses did not come over; instead, they shook their heads and took a step back, but their state of readiness to attack was already very clear.

Shaoyin still thought the horses were shaking their heads to refuse him, so he walked forward two more steps, clapped his hands, and spread them out: "Don't refuse, come here. If you become my mount, let alone Grass, I'll even feed you rice if you want to eat it."

The herdsman had already seen clearly who those children were, and the anxiety in his heart grew stronger. If something happened to Xiong's sons here, that would be a disaster, so he shouted, "Shaoyin, don't go over there, stay away from the horses!"

Hearing the voice, the children looked up in a panic, not expecting to have been discovered. However, one of the horses then kicked the air behind it and charged over. Even Xiong's group, who did not know the habits of horses, knew that this was an attack.

Shaoyin, who was closest, was in the most danger. He immediately dodged the charge, but the horse turned its target toward his little brother. He could not care about anything else; just as the horse's front hooves were about to step on Sihu, he pulled him away, and his own body also had intimate contact with the horse's belly.

Shaoyin broke out in a cold sweat. The horse was still attacking, and the other horse joined in to chase Erhu and Sanhu. Shaoyin's mind was in chaos from fear, and he could only hold Sihu and run in circles.

Seeing that the situation had become chaotic, the herdsman was extremely anxious. The ox was running too slowly, so he did not care if he would fall and get hurt; he flipped off the ox's back, adjusted his balance after a stumble, and rushed toward Shaoyin and the others at the fastest speed he would ever run in his life.

He kept blowing his Whistle, and several herding dogs also rushed over with the speed of the wind. Just as the horse was about to step on Erhu, a herding dog successfully arrived, bit the horse's tail, and diverted the firepower.

The herding dogs began to harass the two horses in circles, and the horses gave up their attack on Shaoyin and the others and began to drive away the herding dogs.

The herdsman also arrived in time. He had no time to say much and hurriedly told the children, who were already scared to tears, to climb over the wooden fence and get out. Just as he was lifting Sihu, a dog screamed and was kicked away.

The herdsman's expression became increasingly tense because he heard the sound of more horses running; the herd had come to support them.